


Shelter

by Decipher (Straggler)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BUT EXTREMELY BRIEF, Because I don't like it myself, Child Loss, Coping with Death, Depression, Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, Grief/Mourning, Hank Anderson Swears, How Do I Tag, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Suicidal Thoughts, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Straggler/pseuds/Decipher
Summary: 'Fuck's sake, Jeff,' Hank growls as he raises a hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose to fight off the headache he feels pulsing from the back of his head.'You're not the only officer I'm asking to help out with this, and you're one of the few in the DPD with the space to accommodate them, alright? So don't think for one second you're special and I'm singling you out for shits and giggles. Now get out and do your job,' he ends the conversation and waves him out, returning to his work in clear dismissal.(This story stems from the idea that, following the revolution, androids from the Eden Club are rescued but are in need of a temporary refuge while Markus sorts out a more permanent place of stay. Hank Anderson is the unlucky guy who's saddled with not one, but three androids to house for the duration: two RK800s and one RK900.)
Relationships: Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson & CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60, Hank Anderson & Sumo, Hank Anderson & Upgraded Connor | RK900
Comments: 20
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, when I was writing Domestic I suddenly wanted a taste of it kind of from Hank's POV so I started thinking up of a draft to go about it with some changes and...it kind of went beyond what I expected, but in a nice way.
> 
> Anyway, I got about a thousand words into the story before I realized that it wasn't working. ='D So I went back to my draft, RE-DID THE WHOLE THING, and tried again, and it flowed much better the second time around. XD
> 
> The thousand words is just floating in my documents folder now, awaiting the day I might recycle any bits and pieces of it. (Which may potentially be never...)

  
To say that he's pissed would be an understatement and he can feel himself growing hot under the collar of his shirt, no doubt getting red in the face, too, as he listens to Jeff tell him how to do his job.

'I don't see why I have to take in a bunch of _androids_ ,' he emphasizes with a slam of his fists on top of the desk, 'into my fucking house! In what way is that even part of my job description!'

'Your _job_ is to protect and serve the citizens of Detroit and, guess what,' he says as he leans forward in his chair, 'androids are now _citizens_ of Detroit!'

'They're just a bucket of bolts with legs! How the fuck are they citizens! They're not even technically alive!' He shouts as he waves his arm towards the meeting room where a bunch of them are gathered.

Jeff snaps as he surges to his feet, 'Lose your attitude or lose your job. Take your pick, Hank. I'm tired of constantly trying to hash things out with you. It's like I'm pulling teeth.'

'How the fuck do you think I feel?' He roars and forces himself to settle before he gives himself heart palpitations, 'Why the fuck are you doing this to me.'

'It's only a few days. I'm not _asking_ you to give up your damn house for them. Just suck it up and deal with it.'

'Fuck's sake, Jeff,' Hank growls as he raises a hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose to fight off the headache he feels pulsing from the back of his head.

'You're not the only officer I'm asking to help out with this, and you're one of the few in the DPD with the space to accommodate them, alright? So don't _think_ for one second you're special and I'm singling you out for shits and giggles. Now get out and do your job,' he ends the conversation and waves him out, returning to his work in clear dismissal.

Hank storms his way out of the office, uncaring for the looks he's getting as he stomps towards his desk and sits down. He gets into arguments with Jeff at least once a week and he would've thought people would be used to it by now and not stare so blatantly anymore. When he sees one of the officers looking over their shoulder to stare at him with wide eyes, he can't help the snarl on his face that makes the man whip his head to back to his terminal instead.

He knows the three androids he's supposed to 'help' are in the meeting room waiting for him but he's petty enough to ignore them and make them wait a damn long time, as long as he can feasibly get away with. So he goes back to filling out the last of the reports from his previous case, doing them as best as he can so it doesn't come back to bite him in the ass even though, knowing his damn luck, it probably will anyway.

When it's time to clock out for the day, he leaves the building and starts heading towards Jimmy's bar instead, feeling the need to wind down and just forget a little bit about what he inevitably has to go back to the station to pick up later on. He's barely two drinks in when his phone goes off and he makes the mistake of picking it up without checking who it is.

'Stop running away from your problems! I'm sick and tired of you making others deal with your shit. This is your last warning, Hank. Get your ass back here right now or you can just hand in your damn badge!'

Hank hangs up. 

'Whoa, you sure you should be doing that?' Jimmy asks, holding back an amused expression as he cleans up some glasses that had just come out of the washer. 'Didn't sound too good, my friend.'

'Eh, just get me another one,' he says as he throws back the last of the whiskey from his tumbler and holds it out for a refill. 'I'll deal with it later.'

'If you're sure,' he grins as he pours a generous portion before going around the bar to bus the tables.

He takes his time with the whiskey, enjoying the smell and taste of it to the very last drop before standing up to pay for his tab.

'Take care of yourself, Hank. See you next time, if you haven't been ripped to shreds by your boss, that is,' he jokes, making Hank snort as he waves his goodbye and leaves the bar, taking his sweet time walking back to the station, hands in his pockets and enjoying the light breeze on his slightly warm cheeks.

His mood, however, drops as soon as he sees the DPD building up ahead of him and pretty much plummets as soon as he opens the door to the meeting room and four pairs of eyes turn to meet his from across the room. He hadn't expected the "leader" of the androids to still be here after so many hours but it is and there's an obvious frown on its face that Hank gives absolutely zero shits about as he points to the others and says, 'You three, hurry up.'

They all stand almost in synchrony and he sees Markus turn back to the other androids and share a look with them, probably doing a mind telepathy cyber communication thing with them that makes him grow progressively more pissed off as the seconds tick by. He feels his headache reassert itself and he doesn't bother waiting for them before walking away, letting the glass door swing shut behind him. 

He's disappointed when they catch up to him and get in the car with him and he thinks he must make for a fucking hilarious sight, or maybe come off as a fucking pervert.

The volume of his music gets turned up as high as he can bear so he doesn't have to hear any of them speak. He doesn't care to learn their names and he doesn't care that they're pretty much in nothing but the regular Eden Club underwear that all of the androids 'rescued' from there had been wearing.

When they get back to his house, he points out the couch to them, saying little else, and leaves the androids to it as he lets Sumo out for a little while, cleans up after him, then goes back inside to refill his dog's food and water bowl.

He pointedly turns off all the lights, leaving the androids in the dark, then disappears into his bedroom to sleep the rest of his shitty day away, feeling more than done with everything life has thrown him so far. The headache he'd had from before hasn't lessened but he hopes a good night's sleep will be enough to soften it.

In the morning, the headache he thought he could sleep off is worse and hits him the moment he opens his eyes. He groans as he sits up in his bed and stumbles out of his room, bee-lining for the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee to deal with it. He doesn't acknowledge the three androids sitting in his living room couch but he does notice Sumo lying across their laps, tail whacking one of them in the chest at the attention they're giving him. He frowns as he drinks up the rest of his coffee then sets the empty cup into the sink.

He changes into a semi-fresh set of clothes and cleans himself up in the bathroom. His reflection looks like shit but he feels like shit, too, so at least something matches up.

Hank whistles for Sumo and watches with satisfaction as his dog scrambles off the androids' laps to toddle towards him. He clips on his leash and takes him out for a walk a couple of times around the block. It's probably not enough exercise for a saint bernard and he keeps making silent promises to take Sumo back to that dog park he likes so much only to inevitably change his mind and break it. But what's one more broken promise amongst many?

He cleans up after Sumo and starts guiding him back towards the house, throws the mess into the bin then goes back inside to refill his dog's food and water bowl again before leaving the house, willfully ignoring the androids sitting on his couch. He wonders what they think of him, probably thinks he's a mess of a human being, but he's got no fucks left to give and very little reason left to care.

When he gets to work, he sees Jeff come out of his office just as he's entering the bullpen, but Hank pretends that he doesn't see him and goes on ignoring the man's glares thrown his way as he heads towards his desk and wakes up his terminal to start working. 

He hates paperwork. Filling out the reports always takes longer to deal with than the actual case themselves sometimes and it's annoying how finicky the system can get about details, but he tells himself that if he really hated it, he would've quit the job a long time ago.

He gets called in mid-morning to attend a case and arrives to the scene with Ben and Chris already there, chatting about the androids they took in. Hank frowns as he takes a data pad from one of the other officers on site and starts to look through the details except he can't tune out the others.

'Honestly? I don't know, I guess. They haven't done anything to upset me so I'm fine with them just taking up temporary residency in my guest room,' Ben says as he taps a stylus on the screen on his own data pad, making a loud click, click, click noise that grates a little on Hank's nerves.

Chris nods, 'Yeah, same. They seem to know their way around babies and they've been helping out a lot with stimulating Damian's brain, which I appreciate. I know Evelynn's been getting pretty run--'

'Hey! Socialize later; we're at a goddamn crime scene,' he snaps at them and almost feels guilty at the way he made Chris jump.

Ben frowns, stilling the stylus as he turns to stare at Hank, obviously unhappy. Chris apologizes, dipping his head as he clears his throat.

'Sorry, Lieutenant. Lemme walk you through what we've found so far,' he says, deferring to him as he updates him on what little evidence they've managed to accumulate across the entire scene. It's not a lot and, in the end, it's not even worth the drive out to the crime scene, nothing but a waste of his time. Predictably, the paperwork takes twice as long to complete and put through for submission. He feels another headache crop up and he decides now's a good enough stopping point for him.

He wants to put off going home, wants to just go back to Jimmy's bar and drown himself in whiskey but he can't for Sumo's sake. Besides, he's still got a half bottle of the alcohol in his kitchen cupboard anyway.

When he gets back home, the androids don't look like they've moved at all, especially with Sumo right back on their laps. He whistles for his dog again, lets him do his business on the front lawn before cleaning up and letting him back inside. He goes to refill the food and water bowl except when he looks, he notices it's already been done for him. Hank frowns but it's not like they've done anything wrong so he just goes to grab his bottle of whiskey from the cupboard and the photo of Cole from on top of the kitchen table and take them inside his bedroom so he doesn't have to look at the androids as he drinks his life and his sorrows away.

In the morning, not only does he have another headache, but he's still painfully alive and painfully depressed. But what's new.

There's a hot cup of coffee waiting for him by the kettle. He scowls and turns his eyes on the androids that are wholly focused on the dog on their laps. He brings it up to his nose and sniffs it, but it just smells like coffee. A sip tells him that it's made exactly to his taste and how they even managed to figure out how he takes his coffee after only watching him make it once brings up a lot of questions, as well as the creepy factor. He accepts the cup anyway because he's not stupid enough to waste good coffee, even if they were made by freeloading androids.

He checks Sumo's food and water bowl, both of which are filled again, and shakes his head as he whistles for the saint bernard, pleased when the dog hops off the androids' laps to come up towards him, staying still long enough for Hank to clip on a leash and take him out around the block a couple of times and do his business.

When he gets back, and once Sumo jumps back on the couch on top of the androids' laps, he decides he's got enough time for a couple of buttered toast. The bread is getting near the expiry date but it still looks fine and there's only a few pieces of it left anyway.

He makes himself another cup of coffee when he gets to work, overhearing Michael talking with Chris about the androids sleeping on his pull-out couch with his cats all piled on top of them, even showing him photos of it. Hank rolls his eyes and wonders when people suddenly started liking the damn things so much. It feels like he walked into an alternative dimension. Suddenly, he's the only sane one left.

'They love my cats and I'm pretty sure my cats love them more than me. They said they might go ahead and adopt a couple when they're allowed to.'

Hank scoffs as he sticks the teaspoon into the dishwasher and walks out of the breakroom with his coffee, fully aware he made the conversation come to an abrupt stop. He hears it resume at a quieter level but still enthusiastic if the tone is anything to go by.

He settles back at his desk and heaves out a tired sigh even though it's only just the start of the day. He shakes his head and re-opens one of the old reports that got red-flagged at him asking for more clarity in his descriptions before it can be brought forward to a jury. He knuckles down and tries to wrack his brain for it, referencing back to the files and photos he's got opened up on his screen in hopes of re-jogging old memories that he's already shoved out of his mind. It takes him a little too long to remember all of it but he manages. He's almost done with it when he gets called out to attend a three car pile-up.

He tells himself that he's a Lieutenant, that he really shouldn't need to be coming out to these kinds of calls when other officers are more than capable of handling it. At the same time though, he knows they're short-staffed now with the androids they used to have in the station having pretty much up and left them to join the damn revolution.

A quick look around the scene shows him three damaged cars, although only one of them seems massively smashed with its crumpled hood and broken windscreen. The humans, four of them, seem mostly alright and he can see Michael and Ben talking with them for more details as the paramedics check over all of them in case they have more than just superficial injuries.

Chris is kneeling on the ground beside an android that's bleeding out, blue blood streaking the ground. Hank frowns and looks back at the cars and sees small splashes of blue blood near the roof of one of them, concentrated along the cracks of the laminated safety glass. He wonders then, if the driver accidentally collided into the android.

Androids are smart; they wouldn't just walk headfirst into traffic.

'Lieutenant Anderson.'

He turns to Chris and sees them attempting to hold up the android into a sitting position, one arm stretched across its back to keep it balanced. There's a look of worry on the man's face as Hank approaches them.

'What is it,' he asks when he's near enough.

'Permission to leave the scene and take the android to receive medical care, please.'

He frowns, but he's not heartless enough to say no even if he doesn't think it's worth the effort. He waves his hand and tells him to go, ignoring the blood that is pouring out of a massive head wound on the android's cracked face plate, the way its face is screwed up in what looks like agonizing pain. It reminds him terribly of Cole but he forces himself not to make any comparisons - the android isn't alive, after all; they don't bleed the same color.

The driver who'd hit the android claimed it was an accident but a look at a nearby traffic camera was more than enough to dispel it. 

It's another case that makes Hank wonder why he was even called for in the first place; they barely needed him there at all. However, he's glad that Ben and Michael have offered to deal with the paperwork for him so he can go back to finishing up that report he's been trying to complete since this morning.

He's trying to fill in those extra details the jury needs when he catches Chris coming over towards him, obviously having just come back from whatever passes as android medical care these days, with streaks of blue blood still on the sleeves of his uniform and splashed across his chest. There's a tired look to the man's face that wasn't present earlier, but there's also a touch of relief in their posture that makes Hank think that the android probably made it out alright.

'Thank you, Lieutenant.'

The thanks is so far from what he was expecting that he almost gives himself whiplash with how fast he turns his head to look up at them. 'What the fuck for,' he frowns and barely has the presence of mind to save his work first before turning his attention back to the officer.

'They barely saved her by the skin of their teeth.'

His frown deepens, thinking back on the android and how its blonde and pink hair had been colored blue by its own blood. 'Right, sure, whatever,' he says dismissively, 'Good job on helping them.' It's not exactly heartfelt but he figures Chris needs to hear it more than he needs to say it.

'Thank you for letting me get them the help they need.'

He blinks, caught off guard by the sincerity from the other man, feeling himself growing uncomfortable by their gratitude knowing that he didn't actually earn it. 'Uh...sure. No problem.'

Chris nods and then walks away back to his desk.

Hank frowns as he turns his eyes back to his terminal and it takes him too long to shift his brain back to what he'd been doing before. He's a little too distracted after that, feeling like he didn't really deserve any of Chris' thanks. If he'd been the one to find the android, he wouldn't have cared at all, probably would've just left it alone to bleed out and die a sad, lonely death. 

He manages to pull his concentration back together long enough to finish up what he needs, sending off the reports after another hour and deciding he's done good enough to call it a day. He heads over to Jimmy's bar, never minding the light drizzle that is coming down over the city of Detroit. He doesn't follow the weather updates but he has a feeling it's only going to get progressively heavier as time rolls by.

It confuses him how people suddenly care about androids when they hadn't before. And it confuses him how much he's started to care a little bit about what other people think of him and his treatment of androids. He's never particularly tried his hardest to foster a good work relationship with any of his colleagues, especially after the death of Cole, but seeing the respect from Chris, none of which is rightly merited, makes him feel just a touch wrong-footed. 

He's always followed the motto of 'respect is earned, not given' and just because he's a Lieutenant and a senior ranking officer of the DPD doesn't make him the best in the force. It definitely doesn't mean he should be looked up to in any way. His life is a goddamn mess and he'll feel bad for any poor sucker who believes he's got any redeeming qualities left.

Hank shakes his head as he pushes his way into Jimmy's bar, hails the man and accepts the first glass of whiskey laid right on the table where he normally sits.

'You know me too well,' he smiles as he slides into his customary seat by the bar.

'You're not that hard to please,' Jimmy chuckles as he goes to bus the tables and clean up any spills.

He snorts and picks up the glass and holds it under his nose, breathing in the smell and telling himself not to overdo it this time - Sumo still needs him. Except he's not so sure about that anymore now that he's got three androids to give him the attention he deserves.

One drink turns into two, then turns into another one until he's pretty sure that Jimmy had to open up a new bottle just to refill his glass. He stops himself when he starts hearing the drizzle happening outside the bar turn into pouring rain and decides he better quit now if he wants to make it back home in one piece. It's not a smart idea to drive while a little bit tipsy, but he never claimed to be smart in the first place.

The rain lets up just as soon as he turns into his street and decides he better let Sumo outside to do his business before the weather turns around for the worse again. 

The androids are still on his couch when he steps in through the front door and he can see their LED flickering between blue and the quickest flash of yellow. He lets his dog out for a while as he takes off his slightly soaked jacket and hangs it on the door peg to dry up.

He checks Sumo's food and water bowl and sees they're filled up again. He wonders why they're doing this but then decides maybe they just don't wanna get on his bad side, and his bad side is unfortunately, exponentially, larger than his good side.

Sumo isn't outside for very long, and Hank tells himself to deal with the mess in the morning when the skies' not on the verge of opening up again. He closes the front door after the saint bernard comes trotting back in and starts for his bedroom only to pause to look at the closed garage door just at the end of the hallway.

Ben gave the androids his guest room, Chris trusts them enough to let them near his baby, and Michael has photos of the androids with his cats.

Hank has done the absolutely bare minimum and he asks himself again why he even cares at all as he approaches the garage and goes inside of it. The room is cold and dark and filled with boxes he hasn't bothered to look at for at least a couple of years. The garage has pretty much been turned into a sort of tomb and he would've been happy to leave it as is except he can't stop thinking about his co-workers and their slow but steady trust in the androids under their care even though it's only been a damn day, if that.

He manages to dig up the old sleeping bags hidden away on the top shelf of one of the storage racks. He forcefully ignores the kid-sized one left by its lonesome and decides he's too tired and not at all drunk enough to deal with memories of Cole.

It feels as though the cold air of the garage sapped what little physical strength he has left, making him feel like a decrepit old man and feeling much older than his 53 years. He doesn't say a damn word as he drops the two sleeping bags by the couch and goes back to his bedroom, hoping to fall into a dreamless sleep.

He wakes up in the pre-dawn hours with images of Cole strapped into his car seat, little rivers of blood running down his face and the color of it staining his hair and his dinosaur onesie. He shivers and remembers the android from yesterday, blue blood pouring out of their broken body from a man too angry at life to deal with things in a less destructive manner.

He tries to tell himself he'd never resort to that but knows well enough that he isn't really all that sure of himself, not with the same conviction he used to have when he'd just gotten promoted after the biggest successes of his entire work history.

There's coffee and buttered toast waiting for him, still steaming hot with little bits of butter still melting into the bread. Hank frowns as he turns to the androids who are seated on the couch. He almost thought they didn't use the sleeping bags at all except, after another quick glance, the sleeping bags are rolled up a lot more efficiently and have a lot less dust on them than when he'd first taken them out of the garage last night.

He eats his toasts and drinks his coffee, washing the dishes he'd let accumulate inside the sink for the better part of a week and is actually starting to smell quite badly. Sumo comes up to him and nudges into his calf, sitting down next to him and letting out a short huff as if waiting for him to hurry up or something. He looks over at the food and water bowl but they're both filled up so he figures that his dog is waiting for him to take him out for a walk.

It's then he remembers that he never got around to cleaning up his dog's mess last night before heading to bed, except when he's done with the dishes and has Sumo ready to go out, the mess is no longer there. He frowns again as he gives his front lawn a more thorough scan because he really doesn't want the unpleasant surprise of accidentally stepping in Sumo's shit. Again. But there's nothing there and he can only conclude that one of the androids did it while he'd been asleep.

He sincerely hopes none of his neighbors caught it and he can't help looking around at each house as he passes them wondering if anybody caught one of the androids cleaning up his dog's mess in nothing but their Eden Club underwear. He groans, actually feeling the first hints of embarrassment crawl up to settle on his cheeks as he continues to walk Sumo around the block, going as quick as he can so he can just drop him off back home and hurry his way into work.

-

It's a slow day at the station but he still has a pile of reports he never got around to finishing from old cases that he takes his time filling out.

As lunch time rolls around, a woman comes in through the bullpen with a baby stroller and two other people chatting with one another and laughing together. Hank does a double take when he realizes the two other people are androids and, if it weren't for the LED, he would've thought they were completely human. 

Chris and his wife bought the androids proper clothes. It makes something churn in his stomach at the sight of them and he forces his eyes away, trying to drown out the happy sounds coming from the baby that Chris is now holding in his arms like they're the most precious thing in the world.

 _Don't_ , he thinks to himself and misses Cole suddenly, wishing Chris would take him and his happy family away just so he wouldn't have to think about how his own family has broken apart and fallen to pieces, an ink splotch on some divorce papers and lying in a grave. _Don't_ , he repeats as he gets up to make himself another cup of coffee, hoping they'll leave or converge elsewhere by the time he comes back.

Of course, he doesn't get lucky. Tina has somehow joined the conversation saying how she had to go out and buy a sleeping bag for the android staying over at hers because she felt bad they were just sitting on the sofa since her place wasn't big enough to have a couch.

'Yeah, that's the downside of having an apartment,' Chris commiserates as he bounces the baby in his arms and smiles when one of the androids offers a dummy for the child to chew on instead of his fists.

'Hey, hey, check this out,' Michael grins as he pulls out his phone and shows them whatever's on the screen. Immediately, all the humans simultaneously say 'awww' and Michael looks proud to have elicited that reaction from everybody, 'Andrew and Martin went into stasis on the floor and my cats just piled up on top of them.'

It's at this point Hank really wishes he just gets called off to go somewhere, anywhere else that isn't right here in the DPD.

Again, he doesn't get lucky but he goes ahead and puts on his headphones and blasts his music, no doubt torturing his ear drums which he'll take over listening to people talk about how much _fun_ they're having with their new android buddies any day.

When he gets back home, the androids are still sitting on the couch, still in their underwear, and he thinks back to the androids that came in with Chris' wife earlier, how they'd been given new clothes and how remarkably happy they looked compared to these poor schmucks living under his roof. It was weird to see the androids with actual personality compared to the initial time they'd been brought into the station after being rescued from Eden Club, too stiff and machine-like still despite having just being deviated.

He goes into his bedroom then, never minding when Sumo gets off their lap and starts following after him through the house. He starts looking through his wardrobe until he's pulling out three pairs of sweatpants, three random shirts, a hoodie, a sweater, a jacket, mostly stuff that he's outgrown and just doesn't wear anymore. He takes them all into the living room and drops them in a pile on the androids' laps, startling them just the smallest bit as they look at the clothes and then back up to him, actually meeting his eyes for the first time since he brought them home with him.

'Thank you,' one of them says and honestly, they all look the fucking same.

'Whatever,' he frowns as he makes his way to the door, picking up the leash to take Sumo out for another walk since he never got to give him one yesterday. He remembers the vet stressing to him how important a saint bernard needs their daily exercise. 

When he gets back, the androids are dressed up in his old clothes and looking more at home on his couch now than they did before, although not by a wide margin. He lets Sumo go, checks his food and water situation before sitting down to a microwave meal, pairing it with a couple glasses of whiskey. He doesn't manage to finish his dinner but he does unfortunately finish up every last drop of whiskey he has left in his house. He tells himself to add it to his mental shopping list for the next time he goes out for groceries as he readies for bed.

It's not that he's already tired, it's barely half past eight in the evening but he doesn't feel comfortable anywhere else in the house except for his bedroom so he just stays in there and leaves the androids alone to keep his dog company. He's noticed that Sumo isn't as starved for attention as he used to be, always jumping up in his space as soon as he comes in through the door, only coming up to him now when he's called or when he wants something specifically from Hank.

He tries not to think about it as he browses through his phone, half-heartedly catching up on the current news and avoiding as much of the gossip rags as he can.

Hank comes out of his room again to use the bathroom one more time before turning in for the night. The lights in the living room are off and there's only the faintest blue glow that he can see that presumably must be from the androids' LED. Curiously, he goes over and sees one android on the couch and the two others in the borrowed sleeping bags on the floor, Sumo wedged right between them and snoring heavily. None of the androids are sleeping but there's a pleased look on their faces as their attention is wholly focused on the sleeping saint bernard.

It reminds him painfully of the sleepover Cole used to have with his friends. He remembers they had a big one for his 6th birthday, complete with a pillow fort that took up most of the living room of their old house with fairy lights strung up everywhere. He shakes his head and backtracks, leaving them alone.

He doesn't know why little things are calling up memories of Cole suddenly. A part of him hates it; hates being reminded of what he's lost, but at the same time, these memories floating around in his mind are all he has left of his little boy.

His wife is gone, his old house is gone, his little boy is gone...

He lays in bed and tells himself to be thankful that he still has Sumo. He goes to sleep feeling exhausted and wakes up in the morning just as exhausted, but there's coffee waiting for him in the kitchen, as well as the last bits of bread, with little globs of butter still melting into the hot toast.

Hank doesn't think he's had anybody make him breakfast in a very long time. His ex-wife used to do it, and they'd all sit in the big dining table and eat together before going about their own day, only coming back after school or after work to catch each other up and wind down from a long day only to happily repeat the process again the next.

Sometimes he misses her, but he doesn't miss the screaming arguments for the year leading up to their eventual divorce whenever Cole wasn't around to hear them fight. They haven't spoken since Cole died, too wound up in each other's grief to fill in that aching void of a missing child.

He shakes himself out of it; it's too early in the morning to be feeling melancholic.

\---

Somehow, despite the evacuation, or maybe even in spite of it, Hank's able to get all of his outstanding work done. He's caught up on all of his work emails, he's checked that he's dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's with his reports, and there are currently only a small handful of call-ins that have already been handled by other officers.

He leans back in his chair, tapping his fingers across the table, feeling surprised.

Hank grows even more surprised when a long-haired brunet wearing a white sundress with yellow flower pattern walks into the bullpen and goes right up to Tina.

'You forgot your lunch,' she says as she holds up a small bag for her.

'Awh, Laura, you didn't have to do that, you dingus,' Tina grins as she accepts the food, looking moved by the gesture, 'I could've had it for dinner instead and gone out to get something else for lunch. No biggie.'

Her LED, and it's only now that Hank actually notices it through the brown bangs, spins a little bit as she tilts her head, 'But home-cooked meals are much more appreciated.'

Tina laughs in agreement as she stands up, 'Yeah, but there's just something naughty about eating fast food when you're not supposed to.'

'Whoa, you took Laura out shopping then?' Chris asks, leaning back in his chair and tipping them a thumbs up, 'Looking good.'

Tina snorts, 'Nah, it's just some stuff from my wardrobe that I just don't wear anymore.'

The other man raises his eyebrows as he takes in the white open-toed shoes. 'You telling me you used to wear those killer heels?'

She narrows her eyes at him, 'I prefer practicality over aesthetics now, but look at her! She's super cute!' Tina gushes as she puts her lunch down and spins the android around on her heels. 'I gave her all of my dresses and heels. I can live vicariously through her fashion choices instead.'

There's a smile on Laura's face, the corners of her doe eyes crinkling up in delight. She looks happy, and Hank realizes it's the first time he's thought of androids as more than just an _it_ or referring to them in neutral terms.

He huffs quietly to himself, turning away from the others, and starts to feel sorry for the three androids that's stuck with him. He's glad they haven't picked up any of his bad habits or bad attitude, though, but he wonders how their personality or sense of self-worth would've developed if they had been taken in by someone else. People like Chris and his family, or someone like Michael with his hundred and one cats.

He shakes his head and keeps his eyes to his terminal as Tina takes her lunch into the breakroom with Laura walking next to her. It wasn't that long ago that androids were led everywhere, always one step behind, always a helper, never an equal, but it's changing so rapidly and Hank feels himself getting whiplash just thinking about it, falling behind on the times.

Hank used to pride himself on keeping up with everything, used to be able to learn and remember every officer's name that works in the DPD but there are at least four faces now that he doesn't recognize, maybe even more than that. He used to follow rallies and speak up for the minority who lacked the voices to cry out for help, used to stand vigilant in the firm belief of his morals that what he was doing was the right thing to do.

He never thought he could change this much in three years but here he is, a bitter old man that's waiting to eat a bullet more often than not.

It's a slow day and he decides to go home earlier than usual for lack of anything better to do. He slows his car to a crawl when he sees the androids outside his house and throwing one of Sumo's chew ropes between each other, occasionally letting the saint bernard win to keep the game going. They look happy, happier than he's ever seen them, and the sight reminds him again of Cole and his friends playing on the front lawn with Sumo as a little puppy.

He shakes his head and parks the car on the side of the road so the androids can have more space to play with Sumo in front of the house. He gets out of the car and sees the way they stop immediately as soon as they see him, their LED circling in yellow. Sumo lunges for the chew rope hanging loosely off of one of the androids' hands and tugs it out of their grip, running around and trying to keep the game going.

'We're sorry for taking liberties with Sumo,' one of them apologizes as he approaches to get to the front door.

Hank frowns and pauses midway there. They look worried, eyebrows furrowed and eyes just a touch wider than usual. They look scared, too, and the sight makes something uncomfortable churn in his stomach as he turns away, 'As long as you don't lose my dog and as long as he doesn't get hurt then I'm fine with it,' he says as he goes inside the house, leaving the androids and Sumo to keep on playing.

It's a short while longer before he starts hearing quiet laughter again, punctuated by loud barks from his dog.

The dishes have been dried and kept which makes him huff. He doesn't think these androids are programmed with anything to do about housekeeping but he figures they must've been observing him and taking his lead or something. It reminds him of the first time they made him coffee after having only made it in front of them once before, and with the buttered toast that starts to join the coffee when he has time to do more than just throw back a hot drink before heading out to work.

He shakes his head and tries not to think too hard about how the androids are learning how to live by watching a poor example like him. 

Hank starts to feel a little bit embarrassed by the state of his house. It's not a pigsty by any means but it's not exactly clean either. There are old takeaway cartons and pizza boxes shoved into the very far corner of the kitchen benchtop, piled up high enough to reach the underside of the cupboards. He can't actually remember the last time he properly took out the trash and a quick look in the bins inside his house tell him it's been a damn long time.

He takes advantage of the androids and Sumo being out of the house to take out the trash, only managing to shove in half of what he's got into the bin before it's filled to the top. He makes a mental note to take out the rest when the rubbish gets collected.

The floor looks disgusting now that he's actually looking down instead of having his head up in a drunken haze and there's even little piles of dog hair accumulated in the corners of each room. He readily admits now that he let his house go. Not just his house but also himself.

He goes to grab the vacuum cleaner from the garage and lug it out. There's a good layer of dust on top of it that says exactly how often he's used the damn thing in the last year. He can't even remember when he bought it but it was probably sometime in the last decade or so. It doesn't look too old at least. 

He's about to pull out the plug when he hears the androids and Sumo come back into the house and he doesn't want to clean anything while they're around to watch him. He doesn't want them to learn that they're only good for cleaning or caretaking and he doesn't know why he suddenly cares about what they might take away from living under the same roof as him.

He holds back a sigh and quickly shoves the vacuum cleaner in the bathroom, accidentally kicking up a small racket while he does so, getting the attention of the saint bernard as he barks and trots his way over to him, no doubt curious about what Hank's getting up to.

Sumo's panting a lot but his tail is wagging and he still seems to be in a playful mood as he tries his best to wind his way around Hank's legs, almost tripping him up in the process.

'Down, Sumo. You know I'm not as spry as I used to be,' he scolds half-heartedly as he pats his dog's flank and pushes him outside the bathroom. The food and water bowl has just been refilled, based on the way the water is still gently sloshing around inside the bowl as Sumo goes up to it and starts lapping it up.

It's just past sunset now and he figures it's a good enough time to sit down for another bland microwave meal. He decides to skip the whiskey tonight, telling himself his body needs a damn break from consuming so much of it. He does, however, reach for a bottle of beer in the fridge instead, drinking it to help wash down the dryness of the roast chicken and crumbly roast potatoes.

He's mentally exhausted in a way that lets him know he might hit a low soon. He knows his mind well enough to see it coming now, can figure out the signs that act as a bit of a warning to let him try and at least shore up some defenses of what's going to be a hard emotional crash.

It'll probably happen during his upcoming days off, which is just typical, but he's survived them before. What's another bad day to add to the long tally of bad days?

At night, as he lays in bed, he wonders how much longer he's gonna have to put up with the androids even though it's only been a couple of days. Sumo will probably miss them and he tells himself he should try and take him out to the dog park more often. He tells himself to try, but he knows there's a damn good chance he's not going to, just another broken promise amongst many.

In the morning, there's just a lone cup of coffee waiting for him because he still hasn't gotten around to do the shopping yet. A quick look in the pantry tells him that he's almost out of coffee and that's one of the very few reasons why he needs to head out to get groceries immediately. He knows he's grouchy and a grump most of the time, and if he doesn't have coffee first thing in the morning then he's going to be twice as worse.

When he gets to work, there's an announcement from Jeff that he's not sure how much he's missed on hearing as soon as he walks into the bullpen. He stands near the back and listens in, wondering if it's a large caseload that requires all hands on deck, or if it's just a random station-wide update.

It turns out to be the latter as Jeff informs them about some things regarding their house guests.

'Markus is currently in the midst of securing an old apartment block that's been slated for demolition for a fancier high-rise. He managed to ask the city to allow him to purchase the rights to the land to allow the androids to live there. When that's all sorted out, the androids can move on out over there but it can take anywhere between a few more days to possibly even a few more weeks while he sorts out the legalities of it all.'

He hears Tina murmuring to Chris, 'Don't get me wrong; I'm happy for them, but I forgot how...fucking lonely it gets living on my own. I'll miss Laura when she goes.'

'It might not be for a while yet. You know how it gets; it's probably going to take _months_ for them to sign anything over.'

She sighs, 'Yeah...maybe.'

He lets out a quiet huff and starts heading to his desk as soon as Jeff adjourns the meeting. The others starts making conversation about what it's going to be like when their android friends leave their abode. He's surprised to hear Ben's sudden uncertainty, not over the androids staying at his house, but at the thought of them leaving.

'Never thought I'd experience empty nest syndrome again, over androids no less. Never saw it coming.'

Chris chuckles but looks sympathetic as he pats a hand on the man's shoulder, 'Got attached to Ellie and Madison?'

'Yeah,' he admits, 'Like daughters I never had.'

Tina coos but sobers quickly, 'It's okay, maybe they'll still come by and visit every once in a while. I'm hoping Laura might.'

'Maybe,' he finishes with a shrug, sniffing loudly as he sits back down at his desk and attempts to look busy at work.

Hank wants to tell himself that he doesn't care either way if the androids living under his roof were to leave; it's not like his life has changed much since they arrived, but he knows that's a damn lie, it's changed a hell of a lot more than he's willing to admit and a part of him wants to hate it. All they do is sit on the couch and play with Sumo, but they also make him coffee, make him breakfast, make sure his dog always has food and water. It pisses him off in ways he can't even explain, not logically at least.

An urgent call comes in during the mid-morning hours involving a domestic disturbance of some sort. It really doesn't warrant the presence of an officer, a detective and a lieutenant, but by the time they arrive it sounds like the arguments just took a turn for the worse, going from a screaming match into a full-on brawl, the sound of plates breaking behind closed doors echoing loudly down the apartment corridor.

Ben ends up mediating for the screaming couple in the living room while he stands awkwardly off to the side just beside the door. Michael is just across the hall trying to calm the person who'd called it in, a timid looking girl who's too scared to undo the deadbolt.

'They're not bad people,' he hears the girl say with a quiet and shaky voice, 'But sometimes they clash really badly, and I got scared because I've never heard them fight like this before.'

'It's okay,' Michael tries to comfort, trying to project calm and safety to the poor girl, 'You did the right thing; you stopped a bad situation from turning worse. Sometimes we don't see how badly we hurt the people we love, and we need someone else to step in to stop us from doing things we might regret.'

'I-I'm sorry,' she stutters, and Hank sees her pushing the door a little bit more, like she's trying to close out all the bad shit in the world.

'It's okay,' he repeats and then brightens up, 'You wanna see pictures of my cats?'

'You have cats?' she asks, looking a bit thrown but less scared by the prospect of seeing someone else's pet.

'Yeah, here, feel free to scroll through them,' he smile as he hands the phone over to her through the gap and lets go once she's got a handle on it.

'Aww,' she coos, sounding much more relaxed than mere moments ago. 'They're really cute. You have android flatmates, too?'

He nods, 'For now. Just until they have their own place to move into. They said they might adopt a couple of cats, too. I've converted them to cat lovers,' he says, looking damn proud of himself.

'That's really nice. Hold on just a second, please,' she says as she closes the door.

Hank hears the deadbolt being unlatched and actually gets a proper look at the girl as soon as she opens the door, shyly handing the phone back to Michael as her LED circles a soft blue, barely visibly through her short blonde hair.

'Thank you for showing me your photos. I'm glad to have met people as kind as you,' she says with a small lop-sided smile. She meets his eyes and Hank tries not to let himself project guilt as he attempts to return the smile, feels the way it sits awkwardly on his face knowing that he doesn't deserve the sentiment.

After Ben's done being the mediator for the couple, he goes ahead and leaves them a number to call to get actual help from an actual mediator that specializes in couple's therapy. Michael also somehow ends up with a new android friend and Hank is still feeling awkward by the end of it all.

The rest of the day passes slowly and he leaves early again to do grocery shopping for what is probably the first time in at least a couple of weeks, barring the occasional visit in a convenience store to pick up one or two things. He picks up more coffee for himself, a couple of boxes of cereal, a loaf of bread, a half dozen packs of frozen meals and a couple bottles of whiskey. On the way home, he drops by a pet store to pick up some food and some treats for Sumo as well.

None of the androids or his dog is playing out in the front yard when he arrives so he parks in front of his garage properly instead of leaving his car half on top of the grass like he normally does.

When he walks in with a bag of groceries, he sees the androids sitting on the couch, as usual, and he wonders if they ever just get bored. He thinks he'd probably tear his hair out from boredom if sitting on the couch day-in and day-out was all he could do.

He huffs as he puts the bag down on the dining table and heads out to grab the rest. Sumo climbs off their laps and starts following Hank in and out of the house, getting excited once he sees the dog treats, barking and tail shaking his body wildly.

'Walk first, then treats,' he tells his dog as he starts putting away the groceries into their respective places with Sumo trailing after him eagerly as if knowing he'll be rewarded soon for his patience.

He takes the leash hanging off the back of the door and clips it onto the collar, huffing a little bit as Sumo paces excitedly, more than ready to go. He's about to leave when his attention goes back to the androids, sitting utterly still. He breathes quietly through his nose as he watches them then looks at the bookshelf. It's better than nothing.

'Help yourselves to the books I got. It's not much,' he says and doesn't wait to hear what they might say as he pulls the door open and leaves with Sumo in tow.

Even though Sumo had been excited to leave the house, his pace is slow and sedate as he walks alongside Hank, only occasionally pulling away to sniff at something along the footpath - a flower, a patch of grass, a mailbox, the side of a bin, a white picket fence with cracked paint. Sumo's pace is unhurried and Hank finds that he's enjoying this quiet time just walking around with no particular destination in mind other than to eventually return home.

The sun is just dipping over the horizon by the time he and Sumo get back. The androids actually have a book in their hands this time, turning the pages rapidly in a way that Hank doubts they're even registering the words.

'Are you guys even reading the damn things?' He asks, mildly irritated, as he unhooks the leash from Sumo's collar and lets him have free reign of the house again, watches as he toddles off to lap up some water.

'Of course. We're scanning the pages and absorbing the information at a rate much faster than that of a human.'

'Right,' he says slowly, raising an eyebrow in disbelief as he puts his hands on his hips.

'You have quite the collection of true crime novels.'

'And books on crime and criminology,' another ones says, turning away from the book to look at him.

Hank shrugs, 'Yeah, well...I'm an officer, what did you expect?'

'You also have the whole collection of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings,' the third one says as he holds up the 2nd book in the Harry Potter series.

'I'm not _always_ an officer, what do you expect,' he grumbles as he walks past them into the kitchen, checks on Sumo's food situation before dealing with his own. 'Anyway, be careful with them. Not a whole lot of paperbacks anymore in this day and age.'

He'd been hoping to give those books to Cole to read when he was older but...well, there's no chance of that anymore. He'd resigned himself to letting those books collect dust for the rest of his natural life. At least they're getting some use again, even if it's only for a very short while.

Hank watches the androids breeze through his collection as he sits down to another ready-made meal and despairs a little bit, wondering if they're actually enjoying it or if it's just something to do because it's better than just idly sitting on the couch. At the rate they're going, they'll probably finish reading everything before the next morning.

He feels his mood drop a little bit more with each book they complete reading and then pass over for the next android to scan. One of them is on the 4th Harry Potter book now and it'd been an exciting book to read the first time he went through it. He'd been looking forward to sharing that moment with Cole, had been waiting to see which house he resonated with, which magical creature he'd pick for himself or what he thinks his patronus would turn out to be.

He heads to the whiskey bottles, opens one up and shakily pours it into a glass, throws it back down his throat without even tasting it.

He had plans with Cole, so many adventures lined up for the both of them to share. He had thoughts of going to New Zealand with him, to visit the Hobbiton village because the pictures looked fucking cool and he figured Cole would've loved being in a hobbit's home, would've gotten a kick out of being in such a fantastical place.

Another glass gets poured and swallowed just as quickly. He throws out the last few bites of his dinner, puts the empty glass into the sink and retreats into his bedroom where he can breakdown in peace, hide himself away from prying eyes.

Questions of what if's and maybe's and if only's pop up in his mind as he sits on the edge of his bed and buries his head in his hands, wondering how different life would be if Cole was still here with him, if he was still alive, or if the both of them died together in that crash instead of having him walk away with survivor's guilt heavy on his shoulders and chained to his ankles.

He falls asleep on top of the covers still wearing the day's clothes, his feet not even off the floor, his head not even on the pillows.

Everything feels so heavy: his head, his arms, his body, but at least it's his day off so he doesn't have to show his face at work today unless it's an emergency.

He forces himself to get out of bed. He can neglect himself but he can't neglect Sumo.

Hank avoids looking over at the androids as he walks out of his bedroom in yesterday's clothes, makes sure his dog has food and water before quietly calling for Sumo to take him out for his walk.

People say having a clean and tidy house is conducive to having a better mental outlook in life. It hasn't exactly worked well in the last three years but he's never particularly tried very hard before either. He tells himself to take out the trash later when he gets back before slinking off to go back to bed.

Sumo seems to sense his low mood, only huffing quietly as he walks beside him, never once pulling on the leash like the normally would. His dog stays faithfully glued to his side throughout the entire walk, not even bothering to go sniff some random patch of flowers or grass tufts or low brick walls. He's thankful, though. Loneliness is not a new concept to him, but sometimes it digs its claws in too deep, but the thought of company makes him feel equally as terrible. That's why he loves Sumo, the perfect medium.

He's starting to drag his heels behind him by the time they make it back home and he goes to throw out Sumo's shit into the bin. When he opens it up, the takeaway cartons and old pizza boxes that had been precariously stacked in the far corner of the kitchen has been methodically taken apart and flattened to take up the least amount of space available. He would be impressed if he wasn't so embarrassed at having three androids clean up after his fucking mess. He would snap at them if he had the energy for it.

Sumo heads for his water bowl as soon as he's off the leash. Hank sweeps his eyes towards the kitchen and notices that it's a lot cleaner, even the little amount of dishes he left in the sink has been washed, dried and kept away. He also notices the steaming cup of coffee and pieces of buttered toast waiting on the kitchen table for him. 

Self-consciously, his eyes fall into the corners of the room where Sumo's fur has been accumulating but it's all gone.

He wants to feel angry, he wants to lash out and yell at them for trying to interfere in his life, for trying to make it just that little bit more bearable but he can't muster the energy for it. Can't muster up the energy for anything, not even to eat. It's not as if the androids are even doing anything bad. They're just...making breakfast for him, playing with Sumo for him, feeding and watering his dog for him, tidying up his house for him.

Now that he thinks about it, the house smells a little bit cleaner, too, as if they left the doors and windows open to air it out and freshen it up just a little bit whenever he wasn't at home.

He acknowledges he's not done anything like that since Cole died, letting himself and his house fall into disarray. The only thing that he's put in any amount of effort into since Cole passed was Sumo, because Sumo deserves better than what he can offer but the thought of letting Sumo go to a different home, even if it's better for him in the long run, would break what little strength he has left.

He feels guilty again suddenly, remembering how he'd first treated the androids like shit when they've done nothing to deserve it. If anybody has any right to be angry then it would be them but they still defer to him and look after him anyway. He feels like shit that's been trodden on and tells himself to try a little bit harder, just a little bit.

The coffee is still hot but at the perfect temperature for him to easily drink the whole thing in one go. He eats the toasts as well because it wouldn't do to waste food and the effort they're making for him, but it's all he can manage.

He spends the rest of the day in his bedroom, locking himself away with a bottle of whiskey for company and the ghost of Cole nearby, feeling wrung dry despite the tears still managing to fall from his eyes.

He forces himself to change out of yesterday's clothes into something a little bit more comfortable, a bit more homely but somehow the soft cotton feels like it's grating more on his skin than the jeans and sweat-stained shirt he'd had on previously.

 _It's just in your fucking head_ , Hank thinks to himself as he pulls back the covers and slides into bed even though the sun is still so bright outside and the day has barely begun. Most people would usually make full use of their day off to do something relaxing, take advantage of an unusually sunny day to be productive, but just thinking about it takes too much effort and he's exhausted by the thought of leaving the house.

He falls asleep feeling like an empty shell of a man and wakes up feeling just as horrible. The sun is already gone, he can't be bothered checking the time but he knows Sumo will be looked after so he simply lies back down and goes back to sleep.

His bladder doesn't hold out until the morning and he wakes up to the pre-dawn light peeking in through the blinds. He groans as he pulls himself out of bed, his body aching from being horizontal for so long. He remembers being able to sleep for two days straight after doing a full week of all-day study sessions and all-night partying when he'd been younger but he's aware he's in his 50s now and those days are long behind him.

He's met with the sight of Sumo lying on the floor right outside his room when he opens the door, perking up as soon as he sees him, tail wagging and barking softly upon seeing him. Hank can't help the smile on his face as he kneels down to pull the saint bernard close, burying his face in the soft fur, wishing desperately that he was a better person but unsure how he can ever be.

It's hard to meet his reflection in the bathroom when he eventually pulls himself away from his dog to use the toilet. He's a total mess and somehow looks as if he barely slept a wink when all he did was sleep practically the whole day away yesterday. 

He can smell coffee and toasted bread waiting for him from the bathroom and he feels his mood dip just a little bit more even though he's got a hunch it was suppose to invoke the opposite feeling in him. None the less, he forces himself to accept the gesture even if he doesn't have the appetite for it but he hasn't eaten anything since yesterday and even if it's not much, one meal is better than none.

Sumo follows him everywhere he goes, as if he knows he's in a shit mood, as if he knows his human is lonely and sad but can't be assed to do anything about it other than to drink himself into an early grave, helped along with the occasional game of Russian roulette.

The androids are sitting on the couch wearing his oversized clothes and completely barefoot still.

He told himself he'd try a little bit harder. Even if it's the only thing he can do today then at least it's more than he'd originally been planning to do as he puts his dirty dishes into the sink and starts washing up before the androids do.

He gets changed and grabs his phone, wallet, keys then goes to the front door, hitting the back of the couch with his knuckles and tells them with a sleep-rough voice, 'Get in the car.' 

Hank looks behind him once he gets the door open and catches the slight look of worry, anxiety and alarm on their faces but they get up and obey anyway, following each other out the door as he quietly tells Sumo to behave himself before locking up the house behind him.

It's now that he realizes he doesn't even know any of their names but he doesn't have the mental capacity nor the drive to learn and remember them. 

_It's only three names_ , he tells himself as he starts the car but he feels the words shrivel up in his throat and can't find it within himself to reassure the obvious fear in their expression.

They never looked this alive when he first got them. He wonders what changed. He wonders how it is they've been able to change with so little external help.

He drives them all to the nearest department store, parks as close to the door as he can get and leads them into the clothes section. He gets a few looks from random strangers but he ignores it all and tries to fight back the slow budding headache he's getting from the bright white fluorescent lights.

'Pick something,' he tells them, 'Get some socks and shoes, too.'

They look at him worriedly and he forces himself not to snap at them; he knows how unusual he's being compared to the first few days of their non-interaction, knows this is completely out of character of the man they've come to live with. They share looks with each other as well but they eventually start to pick something out for themselves.

After a while, Hank notices them picking mostly items from the bargain bin which just makes him feel depressed so he makes the occasional effort to casually throw them a pair of dark blue jeans, a printed t-shirt with a dog on it, a burgundy hoodie, soft knitted socks, a pair of shoes even though he's got a feeling they're probably all in the wrong size but he's trying. He told himself he's going to try so that's what he's going to do.

Eventually, they end up with some clothes that more or less look good together but Hank isn't exactly fashion conscious or whatever but at least the color scheme doesn't make his eyes water.

He pays for all of it and, despite buying clothes for three people, it amounts to very little. He takes them to the public restrooms to get changed so they're not walking around in old hand-me-downs and staying barefeet when they've finally got socks and shoes to wear now.

A pleased feeling overcomes him as soon as they walk out wearing their new clothes, looking proper and almost human, but the feeling disappears as soon as it comes as he walks them back to the car and they get back home.

Sumo is waiting for them as soon as he opens the door and he remembers that he hasn't given his dog a walk yet but the thought of leaving the house again inexplicably fills him with anxiety and he doesn't know if he can do it, doesn't know if he can force himself to leave the house again even if it's only to walk a couple of blocks.

He feels tears gathering in his eyes again and he feels so pathetic and useless and hopeless as he stupidly pats Sumo's fur down and quietly escapes back into his room, ignoring the whine coming from Sumo as he closes the door and the rest of the world outside. 

He misses Cole, and he wishes he was a better man, wishes he was a stronger man, but he knows the truth within himself and knows he has very little else to live for in life.

The bottle of whiskey keeps him company and the photo of Cole lays on the pillow next to him. As he breaks down one sip of whiskey at a time, he can pretend that his son is still here with him. Gently, in a way he hasn't experienced in a long time, he falls asleep with thoughts of his son crowding his mind.

He wakes up in the morning feeling better, and he's not sure if it's because he knows he has to go into work today so his brain is giving him a break from being a depressive shit or if it's because he didn't let himself get as shit-faced as he normally would whenever he gets into one of these episodes. Either way, it doesn't matter. He gets up and gets ready to deal with another long week of work.

There's a steaming cup of coffee and a plate of buttered toast waiting for him on the dining table. The dishes he'd left to drip-dry have been kept away and he frowns half-heartedly as he turns to them sitting on his couch wearing their new clothes.

'Quit doing that,' he grumbles and feels his mood brighten when Sumo perks up at the sound of his voice.

'It's just coffee and some toast,' one of them says.

They damn well know it's not just coffee and toast; it's everything else along with it, but it's too early in the morning to be argumentative so he just sighs and sits down to eat his breakfast, watching as Sumo lumbers his way off the androids' laps to come closer towards him, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and tail wagging happily as he approaches.

'Hey, boy,' he greets quietly and screws up his face a little bit at the horrible dog breath being panted right up in his face. Sumo must've gotten used to climbing onto the androids' lap for comfort and is actually somehow trying to make his way up to Hank's never minding the fact that he's almost on par with him in terms of weight. 'Oof, holy shit, you're heavy,' he winces a little bit at the nails digging right into his thighs that he can feel even though his sturdy jeans. He puts down the toast and has to force the saint bernard to stop trying to jump up onto his lap.

It's now that he notices that Sumo's nails are probably getting too long for him, especially with how little he's being taken out for walks; there's not much to help wear them down and going out for barely half an hour a day doesn't do much to gently file down the nail growth.

'Looks like you need some grooming again, huh?' he smiles softly as he rubs a hand by his dog's ear, feels the way the saint bernard's weight keeps shifting with his front paws still on his thighs. 'Soon, alright? Might as well give you the works while you're there,' he promises and tells himself he's going to keep the promise this time as he lets Sumo back down onto the floor so he can finish the rest of his breakfast in peace before heading back to the station for work.

He forgets to check Sumo's food and water bowl before heading out but he knows the androids' will take care of his dog; they've been doing it pretty much since the beginning of their stay here and he knows they're consistent if nothing else.

As soon as he walks into the bullpen, the sound of a baby catches his attention and he spots Chris, his wife, his kid and the two androids conversing in the breakroom. The happy gurgles of the baby echoes around the room and he decides to forgo making another cup of coffee while they're in there. It's not that he's got a problem with babies or children in general, it's just easier not having to deal with his own loss when he doesn't have to see what other people have that he's unfortunately lost.

Chris' wife probably doesn't mean to be loud but he can hear every word she's saying even from where he's sitting by his terminal, how she'd had a craving and went on a baking spree, and how the androids got curious about it and wanted to join in. He can hear them talking about how much fun it was but how they went a little overboard and just made way too much.

He can smell it, that slightly sweet, buttery smell wafting around the room. He decides to pull on his headphones to tune out of the conversation, feeling like a stranger in his own place of work.

He turns up the volume so that the conversation in the breakroom shifts into background noise, his music just loud enough to drown out the chatter but not so loud that he won't be able to hear other people call for him if they need his attention. He sets the music player down and gets started on his work emails that have accumulated over his two-day break.

He gets halfway through his work emails when he sees someone approaching his desk from his periphery and he looks up to see one of Chris' androids come over to him with a container in each hand, quietly offering them to him. He takes off his headphones and blinks up at them.

'Would you like some, Lieutenant Anderson?'

He blinks again at the offer and looks down at the containers, sees one that looks like classic chocolate chip cookies and another one that smells like butter or shortbread cookies. He hadn't had proper baked goods in a long time, at least, not homemade ones. The smell reminds him of weekend mornings and afternoons with his kid and ex-wife where they use to bake together at least once a month, but that was a long time ago now.

Hank gives a watery smile as he takes a chocolate chip cookie, 'Thanks.'

'You're welcome. There's more in the breakroom. Please help yourself.'

He nods and looks down at the cookie in his hand, feels the chocolate melt on his fingers and stain them a warm brown. It's crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. It's good and it makes him miss what he used to have.

He licks his fingers clean and grabs a random serviette lying on his desk and wipes them clean, tossing it out into the bin behind him. 

He pauses at the sight of his office display, littered with old newspaper clippings that he used to be proud of, stupid little car bumper stickers and worst of all now in this current day and age, anti-android slogans.

There's still anger sometimes, strong enough that it blinds him and makes him red with rage, that he lost Cole because some human got too complacent at using androids to do their damn jobs properly. In hindsight, he knows it's not the android's fault that Cole died and it's true that he still places most of the blame on the human that chose to get high during work hours instead of leaving it for home.

He wonders if a deviant android would've had the drive and motivation to try and save his son but it's a foolish thought to have, nothing but wish-fulfillment.

Quietly, he starts to take the anti-android stuff down, tossing them into the trash. He places a new blank sticky note on top of the slogan he wrote on the screen with permanent marker, tells himself to deal with it later when there are less eyes at work.

It's a slow day at the office, a nice ease-in after having a mentally exhausting weekend. He still feels a little bit like he got put through the grinder but he's here, and he's whole, and that has to be good enough for now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This continues right after the last chapter and we finally get to have a nice relaxing breath. HAVE A GOOD READ!

  
When he comes home, he finds all three androids back in their borrowed clothes struggling to corral a hyper Sumo for his bath. They're laughing and the sight reminds him a lot from when he and Cole used to spend time together in the weekend to wash their dog, getting soap bubbles everywhere and turning the front yard into one gigantic mess. He huffs a small laugh when he sees Sumo dodge their hands, slipping on the grass.

He parks on the side of the street again and gets out of the car, sees Sumo start barreling his way over towards him and resigns himself to probably getting sopping wet before long. He looks up and sees them grinning ear to ear in a way he's never seen directed at him before and the sight makes him turn away, makes him drop his gaze back to his dog that's now winding his way around his legs and making his jeans get damp.

'Having fun?' He asks as he playfully shoves Sumo back them to get the last of the soap off his body.

'Yes,' one of them says, smiling widely as they lean down to grab hold of the collar so another one can come closer with the hose to finish washing Sumo off.

'He behaved very well, until a few minutes ago.'

'Yeah, he does that,' Hank snorts as he walks past them to get inside, walking over the small pile of towels that he recognizes he and Cole bought specifically for Sumo. He's not sure how they managed to find his dog's cleaning supplies but at least they're enjoying themselves so that has to count for something.

He hears one of them call out Sumo's name from inside his bedroom as he gets changed out of his clothes and decides he's hungry enough to have an early dinner, especially after having barely anything other than coffee and toast in the last couple of days, plus a cookie from earlier.

He's just sitting down with a piping hot microwave meal when they all come back inside, Sumo towel-dried and no longer dripping. They take turns getting changed into their new clothes while two stay behind, one to keep toweling and another one carefully trimming Sumo's nails.

'Be careful, I've accidentally cut it to the quick a few too many times before. It's why I stopped doing it myself and just got it professionally done instead,' he says as he watches them pamper his dog.

'It's okay. Our optics can tell when the keratin stops and when the quick begins. We'll be sure to avoid any accidents.'

When they're done, Sumo looks like a new dog and he can't help his happiness as he holds onto the saint bernard when he comes up to the dining table, smelling the clean fur and remembering fondly of Cole. He recalls how his son used to bury his whole face into Sumo's side and rub his face there. He doesn't quite do that with company watching him but he holds on just a little longer and feels thankful his mood doesn't dip too low as he keeps Sumo close to him.

He does his best to keep this feeling with him through the rest of the day, hopes to keep it with him through the rest of the week. He knows it might not be possible, knows his moods can be mercurial, but he's surprised when it holds into the next morning as he's eating buttered toast and drinking coffee, Sumo sitting right beside him trying to get in the occasional cheeky bite.

'Damn dog,' he says fondly as he playfully pushes Sumo's head away from his plate.

It's another quiet day at work. Even after the revolution was done and dusted with, people are still trying to get out of Detroit. It's been over a month since then and only the hardcore and the dedicated have stayed behind to keep whatever semblance of control they still have in their lives and their livelihood.

Ben and Chris are in the breakroom chatting amongst themselves as he's making another cup of coffee for himself and listens to Chris talk about how Damian is enjoying the attention that the other androids are giving him.

'Heard the negotiations are going well, from what they've told me. Jericho might be getting more funds coming in soon,' Chris says as takes a long sip of his own drink. After a while, he sighs, 'It's been...really nice. I didn't realize that my social circle had shrunk to just my family and work colleagues until Logan and Wyatt showed up. I'll definitely miss their company when they go.' 

Ben huffs, 'Tell me about it. I've been experiencing bouts of empty nest syndrome since my kids moved out to college.'

'Your kids are already married with kids of their own,' Chris retorts with a laugh.

'Yeah, and I haven't stopped missing them since then even though we still see each other maybe once a month. It's just not the same when, at the end of the day, my house is the one that's left empty again.'

Hank throws the wooden stirrer into the bin and takes his coffee back to his desk, thinking about how different his own house will be once the androids leave it. Sumo will probably get sad.

He's not ready to admit that he might feel the same way just yet, he's not sure where he stands when it comes to the androids who've taken over his house and slowly tried to turn it into a home. It's a pale reflection of what he used to have but it's more than he ever expected for himself ever again.

When he gets back home he sees the androids sitting on the couch reading, or scanning his books again with Sumo on their laps. He watches them for a while, sees the way they flip the page every few seconds. It's weird and he wonders if they even like books the way he does.

'How far along are you?' He asks curiously.

'There are five more books between us until we've finished reading everything.'

He huffs, impressed and also more than a little jealous. His collection took him well over four decades to accumulate and read through, although he's got a few that he just likes going back to every once in a while. Everything's gone mostly digital now, which annoys him sometimes. He's not sure if it's because he's getting on in his years but there's just something comforting about holding a genuine paperback book in your hands, feeling the texture beneath your fingers and the crisp smell.

He sighs as he turns to pull off the leash from the door, hears more than he sees when Sumo clambers off the androids' laps to toddle his way towards Hank, eager to leave the house and spend time with him. He smiles as he clips the leash onto his dog's collar and takes the both of them outside.

'Be back in a bit,' he says casually, unthinkingly, and doesn't quite hear what they say before he closes the door behind him.

Sumo's back to tugging at the leash, criss-crossing his way in front of Hank to smell at whatever he can - a bit of grass poking out between the cracks in the sidewalk, the bottom of a mailbox, the edge of a rusty imitation wrought iron gate. After the second time they've round the block, Sumo stops pulling ahead of him and starts walking next to him instead, only pausing occasionally to do another quick sniff before continuing the stroll.

It must be a simple life for a dog; eat, shit, play and sleep all day. He huffs at the thought and knows it doesn't just boil down to those four things. 

He pats down Sumo's side as they near the house and he pauses as soon as he opens the door, the smell of food filtering into his nose. His first thought had been to the neighbors but it's not them. The house smells like home-cooked meals and he feels his hand tighten around the doorknob as he takes in the three androids sitting on the couch and what looks to be a plate of stir-fry on the dining table with cutlery put out next to it and a glass of water.

'The fuck is this?' He asks, feeling stunned as Sumo sniffs the air and starts heading for the table. The leash slips out of his hand and one of the androids manage to snag it before his dog gets too close to the food, getting off the couch to kneel down next to Sumo.

'It's beef and broccoli stir-fry,' one of them answers and he finally snaps out of it.

'Yeah? Where d'you get it from?' He asks as he walks into the kitchen and takes a closer look at it then turns around and opens up the fridge and sees a plethora of fresh fruits, vegetables and meats lining the shelves. 'Where did you get the money for this?' His voice pitches a bit higher than normal as he questions them and then remembers a conversation from earlier in the day that Chris shared with Ben.

'Markus has acquired compensation from CyberLife and has given us access to the funds.'

He gets angry, feeling guilty as he closes the door of the fridge when it starts to beep at him. 'You didn't have to do that,' he wants to tell them that they shouldn't have spent that money on him, they should've been using it on themselves, saving up for something that they want, not buying stuff and doing things for a grumpy old man like him.

'We want to.'

'If it's because you feel the need to pay back for just putting a fucking roof over your head--' he stops and changes tact, 'It's not like I even went out of my way for you lot. I'm barely even hospitable.'

'We disagree,' the one holding onto Sumo says.

'You've given us more than you think you did,' another one adds in.

'I gave you fuck-all!' He snaps and lowers his voice when he hears Sumo whine, backpedaling a little bit to sit down as the android's arms around him tighten just a small bit, 'A couch, some sleeping bags and a temporary roof over your head.'

'Agree to disagree.'

'That's not how this works.'

'Please eat your dinner before it gets cold.'

He almost doesn't want to out of spite, feeling uncomfortable as he stares at the door of his fridge and sees, from his periphery, the android that had been kneeling beside Sumo unclip the leash and get back up to his feet to put it in its normal place.

Eventually, he begrudgingly sits down at the dining table, awkwardly picks up the fork to stab at the first home-cooked meal he's had in possibly years. It's damn good but he's not going to tell them that, a part of him hoping they won't continue if he doesn't give them any positive reinforcements.

Still, he's surprised, and maybe even a little bit pleased, when there's coffee and a plate of scrambled eggs with green herbs on top of it for breakfast. He finally notices the small pots of garden herbs under the window sill by the sink that hadn't been there yesterday when he was washing his dishes.

'The fuck is this?' He asks, pointing at the damn things, still feeling a little groggy from waking up.

'Basil, coriander, chives, parsley, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, all basic staple herbs for a kitchen.'

He scoffs, picking up his coffee to take in a few fortifying sips. 'Maybe in Gordon Ramsey's house,' he mutters to himself, shaking his head and turning away from the herbs taking over his kitchen. 'Look, I didn't say anything when it was just coffee and some bread but quit trying to look after me.'

'Agree to disagree.'

'Fuck,' he grumbles to himself, taking another mouthful of coffee for strength, 'I blame Jeff for this.'

After breakfast and after walking Sumo, he's about to leave the house when one of the boys come up to him with a small bag that reminds him a little too much of when Tina's android friend came over to the precinct.

'That better not be what I think it is,' he warns as he pulls on his jacket.

'Our scans tell us that you haven't been eating a balanced diet, and our research tells us home-cooked meals are more nutritious and healthier for you than instant or fast food takeaways.'

He shrugs as he pats down his pockets one more time before pulling the door open, 'Maybe, but they're convenient.'

He almost just walks outs of the house but he stops himself before he slams the door shut. He grits his teeth at the thoughts clamoring for space to be heard and he grumbles to himself as he turns around and points at him, 'You're not a fucking maid, alright? I didn't bring you lot here so you can cook and clean up for me. If I wanted someone like that I would've hired help.'

'We know.'

Hank growls but yanks the packed lunch out of his hands and pulls the door shut after him, huffing under his breath as he heads for the car parked on the side of the road and puts the bag on the passenger seat once he gets in. He turns the engine over with a flick of his wrist and looks up at the house and blinks at the sight of Sumo and three androids looking at him from the living room window. They even have the fucking audacity to wave him off to work.

His frown deepens and he feels an embarrassed flush creep up his cheeks as he drives off, wondering what he did to deserve three smart aleck androids but also asking himself how he managed to luck into three smart aleck androids.

He shakes his head and pushes the thought out of his mind.

He heads into the breakroom and shoves the packed lunch into the first available space he sees in the fridge before making himself another cup of coffee to kick-start his work day. He moves aside from the coffee machine when someone else comes up next to him to grab it.

'Morning, Hank.'

He looks up and sees Ben. Their eyebrows are slightly pinched and there's a nervous twitch to their fingers as the other man stirs in a bit of sugar into their drink. 'Hey,' he greets warily in return. They haven't talked for a long while, not since before almost all of them ended up with androids to take home, especially not with how often he'd been snapping at his colleagues for talking about their android buddies around him.

'So...how are you doing?'

Hank raises his eyebrows at the awkward attempt at small talk. 'Good enough. What's this really about.'

Ben frowns as he throws away the wooden stirrer and brings his coffee to his lips to blow across the hot surface. 'I just wanted to see how you were doing with the androids you took home.'

'They're fine.'

'But are you?' He asks, raising his own eyebrows as he turns his attention to him, meeting his eyes as he talks to him. 'I know you're not fond of androids and to be honest, I wasn't either but--'

He sighs and brings a hand to rub at his forehead then down to pinch the bridge of his nose. 'I'm fine. And...it's actually not that bad,' he mutters under his breath. When he pulls his hand away there's a smile on Ben's face.

'We should catch up later, if you want. Maybe over lunch?'

Hank feels heat crawling up his neck and he forcibly turns away from Ben to take a drink of his scalding coffee. 'Pass. They made me a packed lunch.'

Ben laughs, but it's not unkind. If anything, he sounds happy and pleased. 'Finally got someone to look out for you, huh?'

'I'd rather they didn't,' he snaps half-heartedly but gives in to that fact, feeling something that he never thought he'd feel again since Cole's passing. He's content with where he is and for once, he's looking forward to going home.

'I feel the same way with Ellie and Madison. Don't even know how it happened; one day they were just androids taking up space in my house and the next thing I know they've turned it into a home I didn't even realized I missed having.'

He huffs, takes another long sip of his coffee and sighs, nodding absentmindedly at his words, feeling the same way. He wonders to himself how it's even possible; barely a week ago he would've said with absolute certainty that he vehemently dislikes androids and now...

'Weird, huh?' Ben starts, 'That things could turn around like this.'

'Yeah...'

They chat a little bit longer, just making small talk over light topics, maybe because Ben has noticed his slow but growing discomfort at the subject of androids and the concept of home while Hank is still trying to wrestle with what he knew of before and what he knows of now. They talk a little bit about old cases, things that have already been closed but feel dissatisfying, a lack of justice for the victims or the fury of those they prosecuted walking away because they have money lining their pockets.

Eventually, they return to their own work terminals and Hank tries not to dwell on the fact that something within him has changed without his notice. That, somehow, within the span of a short week, his walls have been chipped away one cup of coffee at a time, one small gesture at a time, until it's a crumbled mess at his feet.

He wants to feel anger; he never wanted to be saved. But here he is and he can't help but laugh at the absurdity of his life.

The house is empty when he comes back but he notices the leash is missing from its place behind the door so he figures they all went out to try their hand at walking Sumo. The spare house key that he'd put at the top of the bookshelf for safe keeping is gone, too, and he guesses they must've found it when they'd been reading through his book collection. He snorts and silently wishes them good luck as he empties out his pockets and puts his keys and wallet on the bedside table, pulling his jacket off and throwing it onto his bed.

There's a smell floating in the air, rich, warm and herby, and a quick glance at the potted plants by the sink tells him they went ham on whatever concoction they made for his dinner. He shakes his head and catches sight of a note placed where he normally sits at the dining table. It's already been set with cutlery and a glass of water, just waiting for the meal to join it.

The writing looks like something that came out of a printer and he snorts a little as he reads the words: THERE IS COTTAGE PIE IN THE OVEN. PLEASE HELP YOURSELF.

He huffs and shakes his head, pulling open the oven to be greeted with the searing heat, smell and sight of a cheesy potato top meat pie inside it. He raises his eyebrows, impressed. It must not have been long ago that they finished cooking and left to take Sumo out. The oven is still hot and he can feel the heat of the ceramic pan through the kitchen gloves. He puts it right on top of the stove and serves himself a sloppy portion of it, taking it to the table and sitting down to eat it. The pie is nice, nicer than he expected, and he can't help the pleased hum escaping him as he takes in another bite.

The house is quiet, which isn't unusual compared to how he normally lived before he brought home three androids to stay with him a short while. He'd had nobody else for company except for Sumo for the last few years and while the saint bernard usually keeps to himself and he never minds the lack of company, somehow, weirdly enough, the house feels emptier than it used to be.

He eats his dinner, his eyes straying to the couch where they would usually sit with Sumo on their laps, and it hasn't even been that long but now he can't unsee their silhouette sharing in each others' space.

He's about to grab a second serving when his phone goes off and he goes to pick it up. There's only ever one reason why it would ever ring now and knows it to be a work-related emergency. Sure enough, Jeff's voice is on the other line telling him to rendezvous to help out with a fresh homicide.

'Be careful. We've already got an officer down and there's potentially one other suspect on the loose.'

'Got it,' he says and immediately hangs up once Jeff tells him he'll send over the address over to his phone. 

He quickly grabs his spare gun and holster from the safe in his room and pulls them on, slipping his jacket back over his shoulders and grabbing his wallet and keys. He hurries out and is about to get in his car when he hears someone call his name and Sumo's bark.

'What's happening?' One of them asks, eyes wide as they take in his haste to leave.

'Work called. You lot behave. No parties,' he says as he starts his car and immediately pulls out. It's only when he's two streets away that he realizes the stupidity of what he said to them. He almost laughs out loud but he shakes it off and keep heading towards the crime scene.

He arrives just as an ambulance is leaving with their lights and sirens blaring. He parks haphazardly, checks for his gun again as he approaches Chris, looking wary of his surroundings.

'What happened,' he asks and takes small comfort in the fact that there are at least two other officers on site.

'Michael got hit, but we managed to subdue one of the fleeing suspects. We're pretty sure they had an accomplice but we haven't found out where they might be, yet.'

'Is Michael alright?'

'He's fine,' he nods, 'Didn't nick anything important, clean entry and exit wound but he won't be using his left arm for a while at least.'

'Good,' he says as he takes in the scene around him. The sun is setting and the neighborhood isn't exactly well-kept. If they lose anymore light, they might lose their best chance at tracking the other suspect. 'What have we got?'

Chris' frown deepens, 'Two dead humans and about a half-dozen demolished androids.'

Hank finds himself mimicking the expression as he takes in the shabby two storey building behind them, can see the lights switched on in some rooms as two people search through the bottom floor.

'Who else is on the scene?' He asks and sees Ben appear by one of the windows, sweeping the room for clues, a deep frown marring his face.

'Gavin and Tina are in pursuit, chasing the guy on foot. No word if they caught him yet.'

'Fucking hell,' he growls and wishes they hadn't gone chasing after the suspect and hopes neither of them get hurt. 'Be careful. I'll check out the rest of the building with Ben.'

'Stay safe, Lieutenant.'

The smell of blood and chemicals hit his nose as soon as he walks in even though there's nothing immediately to show him what went wrong within these walls. The living room is clear of anything but there's a dead body, male, Caucasian and possibly in the mid-20s in the kitchen pantry, shoved into the corner and he makes sure not to touch anything until the forensics team arrives to take photos and compile evidence for them. He finds another dead human in the tub in the bathroom, female and impossibly young and looking scared even in death. He shakes his head and sees Ben standing in the the garage and the sight of what he finds in there makes something else shrivel in his chest.

There are two android bodies with their heads missing, arms and legs pulled off and chest ripped open and all of their wires yanked out, spilling out like entrails. Another one has steak knives stabbed into their eye sockets, their mouth open in a silent scream and Hank has to turn away to take a deep breath through his mouth.

'Have you gone upstairs, yet?' He forces himself to ask.

'No.'

The tone sets him off, and he carefully approaches his colleague. 'Come on, there's nothing else we can do for them right now. Get the ETA on the forensics team and see if a technician can come out and tell us if any of these androids can be saved.'

Ben nods and after a short while, leaves the garage.

Hank frowns and starts carefully making his way up the stairs, creaking with every step he makes. He's almost to the top when his ears catches a noise he doesn't recognize and he stops, his foot making the step creak long and loud. The noise is too close to have come from anybody outside and he strains his ears to try to listen out for anymore weird noises. The house is old so it could be any number of things but his gut tells him there's another guy still here on the property and he's the only person going up to the second floor in the damn house.

He reaches to grab his gun and backtrack down the stairs again except he doesn't even get the chance to draw it out when a large shape careens into him and sends him crashing down the stairs with a panicked yell. Pain blossoms on his back, on his head, on his face as he lands on the ground and he feels the wind get knocked out of him when the suspect crashes right into his body.

He shouts when he feels a punch land on the side of his head, making his ears ring and his brain rattle inside his skull. He hears a commotion outside, coming closer and the weight above him suddenly disappear.

Hands grab at his clothes and Hank panics, throwing out wild punches and kicks until the hands disappear and he hears Ben yelling for him to calm down.

'We got him! We got him!'

He pants and tries to scramble up to his feet only to stumble back onto his ass as he watches Chris cuff the unconscious man. There's blood in Chris' mouth and dripping from his nose and he hopes to hell he hadn't been the one to do that.

He jumps when Ben waves a hand in front of him. 'Hey, easy. Come on, you need some fresh air.'

Hank uses the wall to support him back up and he hisses at he pain in his ribs and along his back, doubling over to soften the hurt.

'I'm calling for another ambulance.'

'Fucking _don't_.'

'Too late,' Ben says even though it's obviously not as he carefully guides Hank outside, settling him on the grass.

His mind turns into a haze from the pain he's feeling across his entire body. There's a ringing in his ear that he wants to shake out but know he'd end up with an even bigger headache if he tries anything like that. He sniffs and rubs a hand under his nose, isn't at all surprised when it comes away with blood but a little glad to see that it's not much.

He watches Ben and Chris haul the unconscious man into the squad car and strap him in before coming up to him.

'We checked the rest of the property; there's nobody else here,' Chris says as he kneels down to his eye level, looking apologetic with blood smeared on his face. 'We didn't know there was a third guy.'

Hank shakes his head and waves off the wordless apology, 'You caught him, that's two down.'

'Three. Gavin and Tina managed to catch the other guy. He got clipped by a passing car and got dazed long enough for Gavin to tackle him to the ground.'

'Good,' he says just as he hears the screeching of another siren come closer until it reaches them, the ambulance coming to a stop in front of the house. A paramedic immediately rushes towards him while another goes to grab supplies from the back to bring over.

Despite his protests, he ends up getting taken to the hospital due to the possibility of a concussion. They put him in the same room as Michael who is looking dopey from drugs.

An x-ray shows that he's got a fractured rib and a hairline fracture in his cheekbone. He's also got a sprained ankle and it's not as bad as he was expecting but he supposes the pain killers are helping a lot to numb everything down, including his pessimism.

They make him stay for hours to be monitored over because of the nature of concussions, even after Michael's been released to go home. The man had wished him good luck prior to leaving and had given him a thumbs' up with a dopey smile as he's escorted out by one of his android flatmates.

He pesters every nurse that comes in to check on him, asking when he's allowed to leave, saying he'll feel much more comfortable if he could just go home and lie in his own bed. Most of them deny him but it's not until a few hours after when it's past midnight that a doctor comes into the room and gives him a final health check and deems him good to go.

'I'm sure you understand that we can't take any chances when it comes to concussions,' she says as she puts away the penlight back into the pocket of her coat.

'Yeah, yeah, I know,' he sighs and winces as he swings his legs off the bed, feeling a slight throb in his ribs and back at the movement. He has no doubts that his face looks like a mess, too.

'You should take it easy over the next week. If you feel off in any way what so ever, I insist you come back.'

'Will do,' he agrees just for the hell of it and immediately calls for a taxi to take him home. He tells himself to pick up the car tomorrow when he's not feeling so dead on his feet.

He's surprised the lights in the living room are still on and he grimaces a little bit as he turns the doorknob and limps his way inside. Three pairs of eyes are turned towards him and they all look like they want to get up to their feet except Sumo's still on their laps and they can't move.

'What happened?' One of them asks, all of them with mixed looks of worry and concern on their faces.

'It's fine,' he sighs and tries to waves it off as he closes the door behind him, 'Just one of the downsides of being an officer; sometimes you just get tossed around a bit. Just part of the job, is all.'

He limps his way into his bedroom and doesn't bother changing out of his clothes, too exhausted and hurt to really be bothered by it. He just climbs into bed as is and lets the painkillers do their magic in helping him drift off to sleep.

\---

He's not sure what time he wakes up in the morning but a quick look at his phone that's still in his pockets, along with his wallet and keys, tell him it's nearly noon. He groans as he gets out of bed, dragging his feet into the bathroom to relieve himself. A look in the mirror shows a man with a purpling bruise on the left side of his face and on his nose, a small cut along his right eyebrow, dried smears of blood along his nose and the top of his lip.

He grunts at the sight of himself and carefully washes the last of the blood off. He goes into the kitchen expecting coffee but finds a cup of pale yellow water instead.

'The fuck is this,' he grumbles as he points a finger at the offending thing, turning his eyes to the androids sitting on the couch.

'It's chamomile, ginger and honey tea.'

'You're giving me grass?' He balks.

'It's good for you. It should relieve your nausea and headache.'

'Ugh, fuck, whatever,' he gives in and drinks it, making a face at the taste but at least the honey offsets the weirdness of it. He doesn't think he's willingly had tea for over a decade, not since he tried to woo his ex-wife by taking her to a fancy high-tea place for a date once or twice.

He sits down at the dining table and pokes at a bowl that's got way too many types of fresh fruits in it. It's more than he's ever tried to eat in a single week or month.

The androids carefully approach him from the living room and one of them stands beside him, picks up the spoon set by the bowl and hands it to him. 'Fresh fruits and yogurt are said to help with nausea as well.'

He grumbles under his breath as he takes the spoon and digs it into the bowl, pushing the stuff around messily before eating a small bite of it. It's sweet and tangy, and he immediately wishes he had coffee in his cup instead of tea.

'Can you tell us what happened?' One of them asks.

'Without going into specific detail if you can't,' another adds in quickly.

He aborts trying to shrug when he remembers how much his body is in actual pain still. He frowns as he pushes around the yogurt and tries to bury a banana slice in it before taking another small bite.

'Got pushed down a flight of stairs. Perp landed on me and he was fucking heavy,' he says as he takes another bite, and he's not sure if it's all in his head or if it's actually true but he feels a little bit better.

Sumo, bored with himself on the couch, toddles over and lays his head on Hank's lap, huffing and licking his chops. He's tempted to give his dog a spoonful of his breakfast but with three sets of eyes honed in on him, he doubts he'd be able to get away with it.

He forces himself to eat at least half of it before deciding he's had enough. He doesn't really have much of an appetite anyway but at least he's got something in his belly to keep him going for a while. He calls for another taxi and sees the alarm growing on the androids' faces when he eventually hangs up.

'Are you going back to work?'

'Even with your injuries?' 

He huffs at them, 'I gotta pick up my damn car, and I gotta fill out at least the bare minimum of the report while it's still fresh in my head before I can feasibly take the next couple of days off to recover.'

They hover near him as he gets ready to leave and watch him from the doorway. He waves them back inside, shoos them away as he approaches the taxi and gives it the address.

His car is as he left it, thankfully, and he's surprised by the anxiety that leaves his shoulders as soon as he sits in the driver's seat and gets the car started. 

He turns to the house and sees the holographic police band set up and a couple of DPD staff still milling around, probably trying to get the last bits of evidence before they fully close off the property until the conclusion of the case. He shakes his head and starts driving his way back to the precinct.

He fights the limp but knows he can't hide the rest of the hurts littering across his body as he steps into the bullpen and over towards his terminal. A sort of hush falls over the floor and he ignores it all as he sits down with a bitten-off grunt of pain and logs in.

He hears and sees Ben coming closer towards him and doesn't bother looking up from the screen even when he hears his name being called, 'You should be at home. _Resting_.'

'Did Michael come in?' He asks as he pulls up the case reports and starts filling in details that he saw from the moment he arrived to the moment he got clocked in the head by the suspect.

There's a slight pause and that's answer enough for Hank. 'Yeah, and he shouldn't have been here, either.'

'All of the suspects have been interrogated?' He asks needlessly; he can already tell from the files available that Gavin and Ben took turns questioning all three of the suspects. There's an audio recording and a transcript of it all, too.

' _Hank_.'

He finds out that none of the five androids could be saved, their memory cores too corrupted to even make the attempt. He shakes his head and closes the technicians' reports.

Chris rolls over in his chair, playing the good guy to Ben's bad guy routine to ask him, 'How are you?'

'Sore,' he replies honestly as he keeps filling out what he can which, unfortunately, isn't very much considering that he hadn't been there very long before he got carted off in an ambulance, 'Realizing again that I'm not as young as I used to be.'

He snorts, 'Yeah, maybe try not to stand around stairs next time, huh?' He grins as he lightly punches Hank's shoulder, prompting him to look away from the screen. Chris' face looks bruised, too, and there's a white tape across his nose that makes guilt bubble up in his stomach.

'I didn't do that, did I?'

'Don't flatter yourself,' he smirks and it immediately sets him at ease. He might been in a perpetually bad mood most of the time and snap at his colleagues a lot but he'd never intentionally hurt any of them.

'Hah, funny,' he sneers but then settles his expression into something more thankful, 'Appreciate you catching the guy, by the way.'

'Yeah, one less sick bastard to deal with. Anyway,' Chris quickly changes the subject as he elbows Ben in the stomach to get him to ease up, 'Did you hear?'

'Hear what,' he scowls as he goes back to his terminal, already done with being civil.

'Markus got the apartment block for Jericho. The androids that were staying with me have already moved over there to try and help renovate the place. They asked me to come visit when it's done.'

He tries to resume his typing but has lost his train of thought halfway through the sentence, too caught up with what Chris had said to fully recall it with any clarity. 'No, they didn't tell me.' But he'd been too out of it last night and exhausted from the hospital visit. He tells them this and gets twin nods from Ben and Chris.

'They'll probably tell you later when you get home.'

'Probably,' he shrugs nonchalantly.

'I'm gonna miss them. The house has never been so lively before, even with a baby crawling and screaming at all hours of the day. Damian's been spoiled rotten by them,' Chris grins and then winces immediately at the pain in his nose.

Hank thinks about how quiet the house had been last night when the androids took Sumo out for his walk. He hates to admit how weirdly comfortable he got in the last couple of days by their presence, how he got used to having people living in the house with him, people who care, people who would make him coffee just the way he likes it and breakfast in the morning, pack him a fucking lunch just so he doesn't go out to get burgers and fill his stomach with fast food, how they make him dinner just so he's not resorting to just eating out of microwave meal boxes. The last time he had anybody like that, Cole was still alive and he was still happily married.

'Ah, well,' he sighs, 'Kids gotta fly the coop someday, right?' He grins lopsidedly and catches a look of surprise from Ben and Chris.

'Right, I guess, kind of? Prepares me for when Damian grows up and heads off to colleges but damn, I don't think I'm going to be ready for it.'

Ben snorts, hitting Chris' back companionably, 'Nobody's ever ready for it, but you roll with the punches. Right, Hank?' He teases.

He feels himself flushing at the reminder of yesterday's pitiful fight and throws him a middle finger, 'Fuck off,' he snaps, lacking any actual bite in his words and shoos them away from his desk so he can get some actual work done.

It doesn't take him long and he ends up getting home just after lunch. Sumo greets him right by the door and he tries to lean over to pat his dog but winces at the immediate pain in his ribs and his back for even trying. He groans as he straightens up with a hand to his lower back and sees three concerned pairs of eyes looking his way.

For the first time since he brought them into his home, Hank goes over to the sofa nearby and relaxes into the cushions. He sighs and has to stop Sumo from trying to climb up on his lap again and is thankful when one of the androids come over to gently pull the saint bernard off him and sit down on the floor next to his dog so he's not feeling neglected.

'So,' Hank starts off casually, 'Heard you guys got a place to live now.'

'Yes,' the one sitting by Sumo says, their LED momentarily flashing yellow before turning to blue. 'We wanted to tell you last night but--'

'Stumbled back to the house looking like I just got out of a bar fight.'

'...Do you have experience with bar fights?' One of the two sitting on the couch asks.

'You don't wanna know,' he mumbles, thinking back to the first year after Cole passed away, how Jimmy had to kick him out a few times too many because of how outrageously drunk he got. In hindsight, he's damn thankful that Jimmy never called the cops on him despite the fact that he is a cop himself.

'We wanted to make sure you're alright.'

The third android nods his agreement, 'We don't think you should be alone during your recovery.'

'I'm not an invalid, as much as I look it, thanks,' he snaps, although a part of him is pleased that they care enough to stay with him to make sure he's alright.

'The case you attended last night,' the one sitting by Sumo starts to say.

'What about it.'

'Were you injuries avoidable?'

He thinks about it and knows if he'd been smarter about it, went about it cautiously instead of being careless, he wouldn't have needed to take that that trip to the hospital, but that's the beauty of hindsight. 'Probably? If I hadn't been on the stairs when I got mowed down by the guy.'

'I see.'

'Why are you asking?'

'I'm...interested in pursuing it.'

'In police work?' He asks, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Of all the career paths or choices they could've made, this didn't even make the list. Not that he'd been thinking particularly hard about it. Up until a week ago, he barely even cared about androids.

'Yes.'

He frowns as he lifts up a hand to scratch at his untrimmed beard, 'You sure? I'm not exactly a very good example to follow.' If anything, he feels like the absolute worst example to follow, barring his earlier career achievements.

'I want to help.'

'As do I,' says the other one on the couch and Hank looks up to see the third one nodding his quiet agreement.

His frown deepens as he questions them, 'Why?'

'Just as we were rescued from that place, we want to rescue others just like us.'

He huffs, 'Pay it forward, huh?'

'In a way, yes.'

'There's...' the other android starts to say, 'There's no reason why humans and androids can't work and live in harmony.'

'Yeah, no reason at all.' Hank knows, personally, how his world view has shifted drastically since he was forced to take home three androids. Still, he can't help but worry anyway even if it's not his place to worry, even if he has no right to worry, 'Look, I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I'm just thinking that it's too...early to be jumping into this kind of big decision making. This is like trying to run before you can even crawl. That's unheard of.'

The android sitting by Sumo shakes his head, a small frown marring his features, 'With all due respect, we were created to be fully functioning adults; we don't require an adjustment period like humans would as they grow and develop from child to adolescent to adulthood.'

'I know, but--'

'I think you might be misunderstanding how androids function.'

He sighs, rolling his eyes to the ceiling as he mentally prepares himself to take on some technical jargon which will, undoubtedly, fly over his head, but he humors them anyway. 'Alright, enlighten me.'

'Our brains are capable of performing several billions of operations per second, meaning we intake and digest information quickly and proceed and adjust our actions and speech patterns accordingly. Our thought processes is much faster than that of a human's and we can use the information that we gather to make objectives for ourselves within a split second and perform them immediately.'

'Sounds depressing,' he grumbles at the explanation but tries to think of it from a human point of view and sees very little difference in actuality; his life is made up of to-do lists as well just as theirs is made up of similar objectives.

'It's not,' the second android contributes, 'It's just the way we are and we don't feel the need to take time for ourselves to figure out what we want to do when we already know what we want to do.'

The one sitting by Sumo inclines his head in agreement, 'We also have access to information online and we can use it to find out anything we want immediately if we so choose to.'

'It's not that we don't appreciate the gesture, we do, but--'

'It's what you wanna do,' Hank finishes for them and sees all three of them nod at him.

'Thank you for trying to make sure we knew what we were doing,' the third android says quietly.

The android sitting next to him on the couch smiles, 'For trying to stop us from, as the humans say, jumping before we tested the waters.'

Hank shakes his head and wonders when he started caring about them, when he stopped thinking of them as it and as machines and more like people. He sighs again and decides it's not really his place to tell them what to do with their lives and how to ultimately live it.

'You should eat; food will help with your recovery.'

'Thanks--' he stops and realizes that he still doesn't know what to call any of them. 'Fuck,' he swears as he stares at the three of them, 'I don't even know your names.'

'My name is Connor,' says the say sitting beside Sumo.

'My name is Bryan,' the other identical one introduces himself as.

'My name is Damian,' the third one says softly, probably the most unobtrusive android out of the three of them.

'Right, well, as far as introductions go, I'm Hank, and this is Sumo.'

'It's nice to meet you, Hank, Sumo,' Connor says as he bumps his head with the saint bernard and accept the licks to his face as he scratches behind Sumo's ears.

'We made chicken soup,' Bryan says as he gets up and heads into the kitchen where a pot that Hank doesn't remember if he even owns or not is sitting on the stove on the lowest heat setting. 'We researched and it's said to be a common home remedy for everything from headaches to colds to fevers.'

'Ugh, fuck,' he groans, but it's half-hearted at best and from the smiles he can see on the androids' faces, they can probably tell.

They stay with him for a few more days until he's looking less bruised and, on the way to the apartment block, they tell him their tentative plans to join the police academy when they're able to. Hank's not sure how it's going to work for androids but he knows it usually takes humans anywhere between 3 to 6 months to graduate, not including the extra years they'd need to dedicate if they want to get a degree on top of it. He figures it'll take them only a fraction of the time with that handy-dandy fancy brains of theirs and their inability to tire from constant training and exercise.

He hums as they tell him what he already knows to expect when joining the academy and, in turn, they tell him they're intimately aware that, as androids, they will not receive the same kind of treatment as their human counterparts.

'You're gonna have to work harder, push yourself further, be more dedicated and more motivated. Take initiative, because that can make or break a lot of things for you,' Hank says as he rubs a hand along his messy beard. He's thinking about it from his own point of view, how he might feel if he saw androids join the academy, how he might react to see the amount of effort they're putting into it. For him, respect has always been earned, not given, so he knows he'd personally be swayed by their hard work but he also knows some people will just as easily be put off by it, feeling inferior and intimidated in turns.

'We know.'

Hank looks at the three of them from the rear-view mirror. There's an attentiveness in Connor's eyes as he observes the world passing them by through the car window. Bryan looks eager although his hands fidget with the straps of the bags of clothes they have with them, their only bit of worldly possession. Damian is the quietest of the three of them, the most serious, and Hank feels like if the three of them made up into a single team of police officers, they'd get a whole lot of shit done easy-peasy.

He feels excited by the prospect and can't wait to see how they're going to turn the world around, closing cases one at a time.

'It's just up ahead,' Connor says as he points to the right side of the road.

Hank can see it; it's hard to miss. There's a whole group of people gathered outside, hauling things out, wearing splashes of paint on their clothes. As he gets closer, he thinks he sees Laura and Tina throwing out a three-legged table and go back inside together with smiles on their faces.

He pulls the car over on the side of the street and parks it there for a while. He gets out to get a better look at the apartment complex. From the outside it looks like a damn mess - a lot of broken windows, an old rusty fire escape that looks like it's one wrong move away from total collapse, weeds growing out the tops of the gutters and green fuzzy moss along some sides of the walls. It's in disrepair but, with this many people around, it probably wouldn't take them too long to restore it to something really nice and livable.

'Good luck with that,' he says as he sticks a thumb out towards the building in question and turns to look at all three of them.

'Thank you,' Connor smiles.

'But I think we'll be fine,' Bryan grins, showing a lot of teeth.

'If you want to take a break from all that, you're free to come by and visit Sumo, whatever,' he finishes with an awkward shrug, clearing his throat as he looks back at the tall 13 floor complex. He tries not to look like he'll miss their company too much but when he turns his eyes back to the androids, by the smile and the relief on each of their faces at the mention that they can return to his house, they're just as much of an open book as he is.

'Ugh, fuck,' he groans and opens himself up for a hug, knowing he hasn't done this since he had Cole around to share this side of himself with.

He feels arms wrap around his waist, along his back, around his shoulders and can't, for the life of him, figure out how he got to this point, how he managed to find a little bit of goodness left in the world, how he managed to luck into this whole situation.

Hank lets go when he hears footsteps approaching and chuckles when the androids hold on just a little bit longer before stepping away. He looks to the side of him and sees Markus and there's a wide-eyed look on his face, eyebrows raised in obvious shock. He's not surprised by how stunned he looks considering how well their first meeting back in the DPD went.

He huffs and points a finger at Markus, reminiscent of the first night and tells him, 'Look after them.'

Their surprise melts away, replaced by joy and a smile, 'I'll always do my best for my people.'

'Good,' he says gruffly then turns back to the car, pulling the door open. 'See you whenever,' he addresses Connor, Bryan and Damian before getting in and driving off. He tries not to watch them from the rear-view mirror but when he does glance up at it, he sees them waving at him as he's leaving like that time when they waved him off from the living room window. He groans quietly to himself again as he gives them a careless wave before turning into another street that will take him home.

The house feels quieter, lonelier, when he gets back. Sumo perks up as soon as he gets home but when he realizes the others aren't with him he huffs and lies back on the couch, facing the door as if he's waiting for the others to come through.

'Damn dog,' he says fondly as he rubs a hand down his dog's head and back as he passes to go into the kitchen. He sighs and isn't quite sure what to do with a fridge full of food except when he opens it there are already meals prepared ahead of time for him. There are post-it notes on all of the containers with the names of the dish that was cooked and when to eat it by for "optimal taste". He snorts and can't help shaking his head and rolling his eyes at the meddling kids.

He tries to take Sumo out on a walk but his dog loses energy to keep going after the first time around the block. He attempts to get him to keep walking but Sumo just sits himself down on the footpath nearby the house and refuses to budge. He sighs and even though the vet has told him time and again that saint bernards need daily exercise he really doesn't want to drag Sumo around by his damn leash.

They go back inside the house and Sumo immediately goes to the couch and flops back down, facing the door again and watching it attentively. Hank shakes his head at this and only partially regrets how much the androids spoiled his dog.

He sits down on the sofa and looks around his house, his surprisingly _clean_ house. They left the blinds in the living room and kitchen open to let in some sun, and it's not even all that much but it makes the whole house just that little bit brighter.

He huffs and looks over at his bookshelf and noticed they re-organized the damn thing. He can see his true crime novels taking up one and a half shelves, his books on crime and criminology taking up three and a quarter. He can see his Harry Potter books are lined up next to each other and just after that, his books for Lord of the Rings as well. He goes up to them and sees almost everything has been organized alphabetically according to the author unless the books come in sequence of each other.

'Damn kids,' he mutters to himself as he picks up the first book for Lord of the Rings and sits back down on the sofa to read it.

It's nice, relaxing enough, but utterly quiet.

-

In the morning, he wakes up bleary-eyed and it takes him a moment to remember he has the house to himself again, except when he leaves the room there's a smell of coffee floating in the air that makes a feeling of hope bubble up in his chest.

He makes his way into the living room and he finds all three of the boys piled on the floor with both sleeping bags merged together and Sumo wedged in between two of them. He's not sure how they snuck in without waking him up and without making Sumo bark up a storm but here they are, catching him by surprise yet again.

Hank chuckles and wonders to himself how he ever thought it was going to be goodbye.

'Good morning.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES, HANK, YOU DESERVE HAPPINESS, TOO. TAKE IT WITH BOTH HANDS, THANK YOU.
> 
> Also, if you're interested, feel free to check out my other DBH stories, too! Many thanks!! =D

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far~
> 
> See y'all in the next part!


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